Victoria's Blog

﻿Image: "Sunrise" - Aklavik, Northwest Territories ﻿

A bit about me...

It was easy for me to decide at the ripe age of seventeen, what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. When asked by the guidance counsellor, I responded with confidence that I wanted to be a teacher and knew exactly where I wanted to go to do that. Of course, not every plan will go exactly how you thought it might but I ended up doing my Bachelor of Arts Honours degree at Laurentian University, and then took my Bachelor of Education at UOIT, where I graduated in 2011.

The conflict started for me upon graduating. It had been easy for me to 'know' what I wanted to do, but now the time had come for me to actually start 'doing' that thing and it was near impossible to find a teaching job here in Ontario. I decided to broaden my search and ended up taking a position in Canada's Arctic - a small town called Aklavik, located at the top of the Northwest Territories. While proving more challenging than I ever imagined it could be, teaching in an Aboriginal community was the best decision I ever made. I spent three years of my life there and saw seventeen high school students cross the stage to obtain their high school diplomas. There were plenty of downs where I wanted to quit, or felt like I'd chosen to do the impossible, but there were also plenty of ups and I know looking back, that I did make a difference in the lives on many there.

After three years of living in the most beautiful (but isolated) place in the world, I realized that it was time for me to make my way back home to Oshawa, Ontario where I could finally spend some quality time with the friends and family who I'd only seen for a week or two at a time. Again, I found myself facing the challenges that so many teachers these days face in our strained job market. At the end of a stressful search and after a few months of working minimum wage, I found myself with two different teaching contracts and am currently still working in both. I work as a part-time professor of Communications for Durham College, while also working as an English teacher for Durham Continuing Education based here in Oshawa. I'm blessed to have such amazing staff at both, but even more blessed to work with the students. My worlds are very different between the two establishments - college students and students who come from poverty and various social issues are two extremes; but, the variety is what keeps me going. It's impossible to choose what I love more.

Outside of teaching, I'm a self-taught musician who loves to play the guitar and sing, while also spending my time in the kitchen cooking or baking. I love movies and sports, and try to play volleyball whenever I can.